Bucks
For just the briefest instant, there, I thought that Bush and his pack of viles were on the verge of actually owning up to a mistake. Before he went on his show-tour of New Orleans, the man Himself said that the results of the relief effort were “not acceptable.” He didn’t attribute the unacceptableness to anyone, but it seemed to me that this might, just might, be a prelude to some sort of watered-down pseudo-mea-culpa, along with a promise to make things right for the future.
Well … no.
Bush, who has been criticized, even by supporters, for the delayed response to the disaster, used his weekly radio address to put responsibility for the failure on lower levels of government. The magnitude of the crisis “has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities,” he said. “The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orleans. And that is unacceptable.”
Truman had a little sign on his desk proclaiming that the buck stopped with him. I think it’s safe to say that Bush has nothing like that on his (dusty, disused) desk. There are no buck-stops in the oval office. Any bucks caught within five miles of the White House are shot on sight. The White House is a Buck Free Zone.
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